Saturday, March 9, 2024

BIZARRE COLLECTION

 



Here is an absolutely psychotic mix of new music I'd like to recommend.


First:


BLASTING ROD: OF WILD HAZEL


Japan's Blasting Rod is a truly unique and creative group of musicians who write and play whatever strikes their fancy.  Every tune takes you down a different musical avenue, often making you ask "Where am I?  What just happened?" when you get to the end of it.

So far, this is my favorite track from this album:

Another favorite is "Oh, Emma, Burn It Down".  It starts with the feeling you're listening to a cool rock band in a bar somewhere in the Western US and finishes with you being chased by a monster yelling in Japanese.  I love the trippy atmosphere of "Where Today Begins And Yesterday Ends/Star King" and dig the punk feel of "Sin City Blues".
If you're in the mood for something cool and different, check out this gem here or here

Blasting Rod are:


S. Shah: Guitar/Voice/Percussion/Synthesizer
Yoshihiro Yasui: Bass Guitar/Guitar/Percussion
Chihiro: Drums/Percussion



Second:


SCRAPE: SHAKE THE NATION

When I bought Gnome's King album, I got on the mailing list for Polderrecords, and have learned that there are tons of great rock bands in Belgium.  One of them is Scrape.

Scrape manages to simultaneously pay tribute to punk and nineties metal.  

I like all five tracks a lot, but this is my current favorite:

"Shake The Nation" is an EP worthy of your attention, and you can check it out here.

Scrape is:


Wouter Vandaele - Vocals & Guitars
Sebastiaan Hoet - Guitars
Jens Vanhee - Bass
Stijn Decoene - Drums





Third:


FROGLORD: LIVE BY THE FUZZ OR DIE BY THE SLIME

England's Froglord produced one of my top five favorite albums of 2023, and are already back with a top-rate EP.  I obviously love this band.

Froglord are:

Too mysterious to have their names findable online, but here's a pic:

Check out the other two tunes here.



Fourth:


MR. BISON: ECHOES FROM THE UNIVERSE

Italy's Mr. Bison have really turned a corner and stepped up their songwriting game.  On this album I hear traits of the bands Motorpsycho, Elder and King Buffalo.

I posted the pre-released track "The Child Of The Night Sky" back in November, but the complete album is finally out and I wanted to share this gem of a tune:

Mr. Bison are:

Matteo Barsacchi: Guitar/Synth/Bass
Matteo Sciocchetto: Guitar/Vocals/Bass
Lorenzo Salvadori: Drums
Davide Salvadori: Acoustic Guitar/Synth/Hammond/Mellotron/Bass

Check out this epic album here.



Fifth:


MONKEY3: WELCOME TO THE MACHINE

Back in 2016 I referred to Switzerland's Monkey3 as the Pink Floyd of stoner rock, and now they've chosen a Pink Floyd-related title for their newest album.  If you are unfamiliar with this veteran band, I think you'll understand the Pink Floyd analogy when you hear this:
Monkey3 are:

Walter: Drums
Jalil: Bass
Boris: Guitar
dB: Keyboards/Sounds/Acoustic Guitar

Check out the four other instant classic tracks here.

I hope I've given you enough to explore to make up for the long delay since my last post.
I'm out for now; Stay heavy!
-ULTRA


Sunday, February 18, 2024

 


SLOWER


Spectacular Reimagining of Classic Slayer

Just look at who is on this album:

“War Ensemble” “Dead Skin Mask” “Blood Red” “The Antichrist”
Esben Willems (drums) MONOLORD
Peder Bergstrand (bass) LOWRIDER
Amy Barrysmith (vocals) YEAR OF THE COBRA
Bob Balch (guitars) FU MANCHU

“South Of Heaven”
Esben Willems (drums) MONOLORD
Scott Reeder (bass) KYUSS
Laura Pleasants (vocals) KYLESA
Bob Balch (guitars) FU MANCHU

First of all, if you played these tunes for me and I didn't already know who was on guitar, Bob Balch is a name that would have never entered my mind.  The slow heavy doom feel he has brought to these tunes is immense.  Slow everything down, throw in female vocals, and the whole thing just works in a way nobody ever could have predicted.  

I can't stop listening to it, and hope these musicians follow up with even more of my favorite Slayer tunes real soon.

Hear for yourself:



"The Antichrist", "Blood Red" and "Dead Skin Mask" are also covered here with equal dripping, oozing, awesome heaviness.  I will listen to this so many times it will end up costing me pennies per listen.  You know what to do.

More soon!
-ULTRA

Friday, February 9, 2024

FUCK YEAH


There could be no other title for this post.  Look what's about to go down:


LEATHER LUNG: GRAVESIDE GRIN
2022's Dive Bar Devil was great but also a tease because it was so short.  I've played "Road Soda" and "Far Too Familiar" countless times.  

On March 15th, Leather Lung will give us a full-length release, and here are the two highly awesome, pre-released tracks along with their memorable videos.  I love how the three vocalists complement each other in "Empty Bottle Boogie":

Leather Lung are from Boston (Allston I believe).  They are:
Mike (Vocals)
Zach (Guitar, Vocals)
Jesse (Bass, Vocals)
Ben (Drums)
Greg (Guitar)

You can pre-order here as I did if you are so inclined.

Peace!

Saturday, January 13, 2024

SOME STUFF I MISSED

If I could listen to and pay attention to two albums at the same time, I would.  Fortunately, there's still enough great rock out there that nobody can really explore it all in any given year.  Here is some one hundred percent righteous music from 2023 that I'm just getting to:

Engraver are from Poland.
They are:


Olaf: Bass
Ogi: Drums
Adam Rekść: Guitar
Dawid: Vocals

ALSO FROM POLAND:

Dopelord:


Paweł Mioduchowski - Guitars and Vocals
Piotr Ochociński - Drums
Grzegorz Pawłowski - Guitars
Piotr Zin - Bass, Vocals and Mellotron

BRITISH CONTRIBUTION:

Green Lung:
Green Lung are:


Tom Templar: Vox
Scott Black: Guitars
Joseph Ghast: Bass
John Wright: Keys
Matt Wiseman: Drums


SPAIN:
So many great Spanish stoner rock bands.  Here's one of them:
Wet Cactus are:


Daniel Pascual Salvador (Bass & Vocals)
Óscar Sánchez Marcano (Guitar & Vocals)
Ernesto Díez Otí (Guitar & Vocals)
Jaime Pérez Herrera (Drums)

Saturday, December 30, 2023

2023 Top Ten Stoner Rock Albums

 2023 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#10-1)

The second half of my top 20 heavy rock albums list for 2023. One song from each album, beginning with album #10 and finishing with album #1. I understand I'm sure to be missing some great albums that came out this year, but am just sharing my favorite purchases of the year. Artist/Album/Track info is displayed for the first 10 seconds of each tune.


#10: "Cosmic Evoked Potentials" by L'Ira Del Baccano
Italian instrumental band with real technical precision.  Excellent songwriting here.  I've been listening to this since it came out in March


#9: "Fuzzrider" by Fuzzrider
Greek guitarist and vocalist Jim Lord has returned with a new band and 8 great tracks with his distinctive sound


#8: "Medicine" by Goat
The mysterious Swedish band has put out another album.  Of course it's really nothing like their others, and of course it's another masterpiece.  This one's got a real trippy, hippy vibe.  Goat can do no wrong in my book.


#7: "Superskull" by Black Rainbows
Italian stoner rock legends return with one of their most aggressive and catchy albums yet.  Also, another candidate for album cover of the year.


#6: "Enveletration" by Sandrider
This unique Seattle trio has their own style, which includes elements of punk, metal and stoner.  This is their best album to date, and one of the best albums of the year.  Every tune is great.  They also recently put out one of the best EPs of the year, also worth your while.



#5: "Sons Of Froglord" by Froglord
This British rock band with the weird face masks really knows how to write great tunes.  I love every one of these eleven tracks.  I refer to their sound as "groovy doom".  


#4: "Low Desert Surf Club" by Fire Down Below
The third album from this Belgian band is truly special.  They've really nailed that classic "desert" fuzz sound.  Obviously one of my favorite few albums of the year, and Cocaine Hippo is one of my favorite songs of the year.


#3: "Thunder Ape" by Bahboon
Even though their first album came out in 2015, I just found this Japanese band this year, and what a great surprise this album was.  Each song has a different atmosphere, and each one is polished and perfect.  I'll be listening to this for years to come.


#2: "Margarita Witch Cult" by Margarita Witch Cult
This British band caught my attention with an EP last year.  Even though the quality of the recording was rough, I listened to those two tunes countless times because the songwriting was so good.  This new album has nine new tunes that have all been stuck in my head since the album was released, in April.

#1: "The Old Ways Remain" by Blood Ceremony
Not just album of the year, this is one of the very best albums I've ever bought in my life.  The musicianship and songwriting here stack up with any rock album of any era.  The song I chose for this playlist is not typical of the album, but none of the songs is.  Each is its own masterpiece, and every note of every tune has wormed its way into the inner recesses of my brain.   





Notable Omission:
"In Times New Roman" by Queens of the Stone Age deserves to be in my top 10.  Few individuals have helped to shape the genre we call Stoner Rock like Josh Homme has, and this is as perfect an album as he's ever been involved with.  Yet, I am still unwilling to take any of these other albums off my list.  I'd like to spread the word on relatively lesser-known albums as the year closes.  I'm pretty confident this new Queens of the Stone Age album has already reached a pretty vast audience.

Best EPs:
"Kiss The Boot" by Glitter Wizard
"Aviary/Baleen" by Sandrider
"Parable Of The Taxidermist's Dilemma" by Mississippi Bones
"Fu30, Pt. 3" by Fu Manchu
"Lady Cadaver" by Tumble

Stay safe out there, and Happy New Year!









Friday, December 29, 2023

2023 Best Albums (#20-#11)

 2023 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#20-11)

The first half of my top 20 heavy rock albums list for 2023. One song from each album, beginning with album #20 and finishing with album #11. I understand I'm sure to be missing some great albums that came out this year, but am just sharing my favorite purchases of the year. Artist/Album/Track info is displayed for the first 10 seconds of each tune.


#20: "Wave Cannon" by The Machine

This trio from the Netherlands never disappoints


#19: "Mask Off!" by Gorilla Pulp

Italy's Gorilla Pulp consistently delivers hard rock with some of the best guitar riffs around


#18: "Remedy" by Gozu
Boston's Gozu delivers another great album, with as heavy a guitar sound as you'll find


#17: "Drifting In The Endless Void" by Dozer
Swedish stoner rock heavyweights Dozer have been at it for nearly a quarter-century, and show no signs of slowing down


#16: "Return Of The Asteroid" by Wolfnaut
Norway's Wolfnaut used to be called Wolfgang.  They've been around for a while, and are getting better with time



#15: "Boogie To Baja" by Stöner
If Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri are involved, you know it's worth your while.  Also, this is probably the album cover of the year


#14: "Land Of Sleeper" by Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
This British band with the ridiculous name really knows how to rock.  Heavy and very unique songwriting throughout this album


#13: "Never Turn Your Back On A Friend" by Various Artists
This reimagining of Budgie's 1973 classic album also features 3 additional bonus Budgie cover tunes.  Every artist featured shows true love for the track they chose to cover.  One of the best tribute albums ever done, but if you're not familiar with the original songs, prepare for a truly different kind of experience.


#12: "Chaos And The Art Of Motorcycle Madness" by The Death Wheelers
This instrumental band from Vancouver has really turned a corner in terms of their songwriting.  I've been a huge fan of all their albums, but this one is their best yet.


#11: "Divination" by Formula 400
This second album from San Diego's Formula 400 is simple, dirty, kick-ass hard rock that's great for getting you all fired up.  Meant to be played loud when you've got some open highway in front of you





Stay tuned tomorrow for my top ten albums of 2023









Saturday, December 23, 2023

Coming in February

 THE OBSESSED: GILDED SORROW


Scott Weinrich, a.k.a. Wino:
Absolute legend.  Best known for his work in The Obsessed, Saint Vitus and Spirit Caravan, but Scott has been in other well-known bands, has solo albums, and the list of people he's done guest appearances with reads like a who's who in stoner rock history.
Seven years since the last album and thirty four years since the debut album by The Obsessed, "Gilded Sorrow" will be released on February 16th, by Ripple Music.  Judging by the two pre-released tracks, this album promises to instantly be one of the best 2024 will have to offer.

Check out Scott's guitar sound on "Stoned Back To The Bomb Age":

Now check out "It's Not OK".  Clearly Scott's pissed at someone; I expect we'll eventually get the story on who he's singing about but whether we do or don't, the tune kicks ass and is bound to end up considered a Wino classic.

Appearing on this album are:
Scott "Wino" Weinrich – lead guitar, lead vocals (1980–present)
Brian Costantino – drums, backing vocals (2016–present)
Chris Angleberger – bass (2022–present)
Jason Taylor – rhythm guitar (2022–present)



I love Wino's Blood of the Sun shirt.  Burning on the Wings of Desire is not only a great album, but a truly classic album cover as well.

Over and out for now.  Stay tunes for my top 20 albums of the year playlists

-ULTRA